Julia Bluen was wealthy enough, but Rachel didn't want to accept her help, insisting on being self-reliant. Even when he helped her, she always thought about paying him back.

There wasn't any sound from the eighth floor. Could she really be in her rented apartment?

A woman holding a child about two years old walked towards the Emerald Garden Building. She was a resident there and, upon reaching the main entrance, took out a set of keys to unlock the door.

This was exactly the opportunity Hansen Ruiz had been waiting for.

He exited the car, swift yet composed. He'd moved so quickly he worried people in the nearby shops might mistake him for a robber.

"Ma'am, please wait! I need to go in too," Hansen Ruiz called out hurriedly with a warm smile as the woman opened the door. Before she could fully turn her head in bewilderment, he had already slipped inside. He smiled gently at her again, saying, "My girlfriend lives here too. I'm here to find her; she's on the eighth floor."

Then, without waiting for the woman to react, he rushed towards the stairs. He went up to the second floor, then took the elevator to the eighth.

Rachel Bailey's apartment door was tightly shut, the external lock fastened, indicating she wasn't inside.

Not at her shop, not in her apartment, phone off... where could she have gone?

Hansen Ruiz furrowed his brows. He took out his phone and made a series of calls, ordering his men to conduct a city-wide search for Rachel Bailey.

He had given her two days. Shouldn't she have calmed down by now?

Could she still not face him?

Whether she accepted his proposal or not, he needed an answer.

He wouldn't allow her to keep avoiding him like this.

He believed that with time, the knot in her heart would eventually loosen. As long as his love was deep and true, he was confident he could melt even a heart of stone.

"RING RING RING..."

Hansen Ruiz's phone rang. He quickly answered it.

"Mr. Ruiz, there's no news about Miss Bailey. We don't know her current whereabouts."

Hansen Ruiz replied calmly, "Thank you." He hung up. Just as he did, another call came in, and he answered it.

After nearly twenty calls, all reporting no news of Rachel Bailey, he began to feel anxious, then started to panic.

In T City, his covert network extended into every corner. If there was anything he wanted to know, or anyone he wanted to find, a single command from him would yield results in the shortest possible time. He had relied on this clandestine power to assist Glades Horne. But now, his people couldn't find Rachel Bailey. What did this mean? It meant Rachel Bailey was no longer in T City, and she had left without anyone knowing.

Who could be so capable as to spirit Rachel Bailey out of T City, right under his nose?

Apart from Glades Horne, he couldn't think of anyone else. But Glades was his best friend and his boss. Glades was practically desperate for Rachel Bailey to accept him, Hansen, just so he'd be tied to the Valence Group for life as their loyal servant. Glades would never send Rachel Bailey out of T City.

Could it be his own mother?

Hansen Ruiz first found the landlord of the Emerald Garden Building to check if Rachel Bailey had terminated her lease. The answer was no.

Hansen Ruiz's heart sank. Rachel Bailey hadn't terminated her lease... That meant she must have been kidnapped!

Recalling his mother's recent behavior, Hansen Ruiz was ninety-nine percent certain that his own mother was the one who had kidnapped Rachel.

He instructed his men to continue searching for Rachel Bailey's whereabouts, to question everyone she knew, and even to check her hometown for leads. Meanwhile, he hurried back to A City to confront his mother.

Hansen Ruiz had no idea that at that very moment, two tall men in black were leading Rachel Bailey into a large, dark, and gloomy house.

"What do you want?" Rachel Bailey struggled fiercely. The two men in black had abducted her while she was walking on the street and brought her here without saying a word, their purpose unknown.

"Are you afraid?"

Suddenly, a very deep and somber voice emerged from the depths of the room.

Rachel Bailey looked up. A tall, handsome man in an impeccably tailored suit, exuding an imperial aura, emerged from the back of the room. She stopped struggling and exclaimed in astonishment, "Young Master Horne! Why is it you?"

The person who had abducted her was Glades Horne—her best friend Julia Bluen's beloved husband, T City's most influential figure, the heir to the Horne Family!

How could she not be astonished?

Why had Glades Horne kidnapped her and brought her here?

Glades Horne stopped about three meters away from her. A bodyguard, appearing as if from nowhere, brought a chair and placed it behind him. Glades promptly sat down.

His profound eyes, like two sharp swords, fixed on her small frame. Each glance felt like a prick, making the hairs on her skin stand on end.

His gaze was too intense, too cold, too critical.

What exactly was he thinking?

What exactly was his purpose?

Surely, he couldn't be interested in her the way Hansen Ruiz was... could he?

No, that was absolutely impossible. This man's love for Julia was genuine and profound. He would never be interested in an ordinary woman like her.

Glades Horne remained silent, his lips pursed. He continued to observe Rachel Bailey with that intense, critical gaze, looking her up and down, then down and up, countless times. She felt increasingly uneasy and tense, her scalp prickling.

"You're not even a tenth of my Julia," Glades Horne finally uttered after what felt like half an hour. "I really don't understand what that fellow sees in you to be willing to sell himself to me for your sake."

His wife, Julia, had asked him to help: to suppress any news about Rachel Bailey, hide her away, and see how Hansen Ruiz would react.

Meanwhile, Hansen Ruiz had pleaded with him to get Julia to talk to Rachel Bailey. If things worked out between them, Hansen was willing to dedicate his life to the Valence Group, effectively selling himself.

Glades Horne knew perfectly well how exceptional Hansen Ruiz was. He just couldn't comprehend how this utterly ordinary woman, Rachel Bailey, could have captivated Hansen, making him so infatuated, like a rash young lad.